My Geography teacher has started an experiment which involves me writing about what I have learnt in my lessons and about any geographical news that interests me. My Geography teacher is also going to write a blog about what she teaches me (and therefore what I should have learnt!) and hopefully the two blogs will match up. The idea is that this will not only help me to consolidate what I learn but that it will also help fellow students do the same and keep up to date with current issues.

Tuesday, 13 September 2011

Development and Colonialism - places to go if you are struggling for ideas...

This is only going to be a short post but I thought, seeing as I got the impression that some were perhaps struggling with linking development and colonialism, that I would try and point you in the direction of a few resources that may help you form you own opinions on the topic.

"To what extent are the low levels of development in much of sub-Saharan Africa a result of European colonialism"

First up, I feel the need to clear up a bit of confusion that arised in my lesson on Monday and was a topic of much debate amongst a few in my class. Where is sub-Saharan Africa? So, for those of you who weren't quite sure, its the darker bit with all the labelled countries.....

Blogging!

Millie has started running these online workshop sessions on her blog on Tuesday evenings starting at 5:30pm. The first one was tonight and even if you missed it, like me, I would strongly recommend that you catch up on what she discussed. All you need to do is go along to her blog (if you look at the very end of this page, under the blogs I read bit, there will be a link directly to the relevant post unless she has written something since then!) and just listen to it and follow the text. It was very useful as an overview of the factors we will be expected to cover in our essay, she suggested some good case studies for us to research further, provided some links to places to look to for a basic introduction to colonialism and also covered structuring and essay writing technique for all A2 essays. It is definetly worth catching up on if you missed it - I really could not emphasise this enough!!!

Now I realise that I have not really written many relevant/useful posts about development over the holidays but my head has been filled with lots and lots of oceanography based stuff and pure physical geography and I suppose I have utilised this blog to expel some of my frustration about having to cut much of the wonderful and highly interesting science out of my EPQ - so I apologise, I will get back into the swing of blogging regularly once our lessons really get under way and I will try and write about lots more human geography stuff to balance it all out over the next few weeks as I realise that physical geography is perhaps not everyones favourite thing. Below will be a few links to some posts that are sort of relevant and should hopefully provide some extra knowledge:

Contemporary colonial carve-up??? This post is based on neo-colonialism, which is an issue that I suppose could be mentioned in up coming essay, and some of the impacts (both positive and negative) that it is having on countries at present are incredibly similar to those that colonialism had/has. There are a few references to the 'scramble for Africa' which is an issue that will have to be covered in the essay at some point! There are many other factors that have hindered development but I have mainly focused at the moment on climate....Is there a link between civil conflict and climate patterns? If I am being honest this post was an excuse to talk about a physical topic that really really interests me (ENSO) whilst also covering some human geography stuff and it is very relevant to the essay with a few case studies that could be mentioned. I don't think you really need to understand all the ENSO stuff and specifics of it but just the idea that climate has either helped or hindered development and, in the case of sub-Saharan Africa, greatly hindered it. Climate plays/played a huge role in development and writing this post made me think back to the stuff we have learnt about the DTM and the Rostow Model of Development as for countries to move through the stages of both, therfore to develop, changes in agriculture are one of the first to happen as they help to generate an active and growing economy, reduce CDR by securing food supplies and provide employment etc. and in much of Africa, and other less developed nations, the climate does not allow for this to happen - an issue that can be seen the Horn of Africa at present, UN officially declares a famine in Somalia.

Books and films

I have a few book/film reviews to try and find the time to write over the next few weeks, to add to those that I have already written, and there are loads of great books/films out there to read/watch, based in Africa, that will allow you to gain so much more understanding of this topic.
- Blood River, Tim Butcher I have reviewed this one so follow the link if you want to know more but, in summary, this book is mainly set in DR Congo and is perhaps one of the best books I have read regarding this topic as the detrimental impacts that colonialism has had on this country and the way in which it has hindered development and, agruably, provoked the country to under-develop are very clear to see.
- The same guy has also written another book called Chasing the Devil, On Foot through Africa's Killing Fields which is based in Sierra Leone and Liberia. Again much of the above is covered but I havent got round to writing the review for it yet so the link is to one that I got online.
If I am being honest there are loads and loads of books that would be good if you got the chance to read so I don't think I really need to list them all but basically any book about an African country would give you an insight/understanding it their development - even a book I read for the energy module, The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind, would help you to understand factors effecting development.

I realise that this EPQ is probably taking up a lot of your time and involving a lot of reading so watching some related films may be a good way to ease yourself back into this Geography module and there quite a few out there..... some suggestions are (see links for my reviews along with links to this current module):
- Blood Diamond
- Darfur
- Invictus
- Goodby Bafana
- Cry Freedom
- Constant Gardener
I have yet to watch/ reading something that takes a more positive view to colonialism and development but there are some, which are often easy to forget! All of these are set in African countries and perhaps it is important to remember that other parts of the world were colonised too, with some case studies showing the benefits of colonialim, and so reading/watching stuff about them too could be quite a beneficial think to do.

The afore-mentioned are just a few things that I found really helped me extend my knowledge of the topic over the summer holidays; if you have any suggestions let me know!

2 comments:

Thanks for the good review! It should now be simpler, there is a little widget installed abover the text, you just have to forgive how very nervous i sound! I think I need some music!I am goin g to get a display set up in the library for relevant films for this module! Great post, thanks vicki!

It honestly was really good and will no doubt prove to be an excellent consolidation/revision tool that is, perhaps, one of the best ways to start to get students to interact more with the blog. You don't sound that nervous - surely it can't be much different to standing up in front of a class?!

Geography Films

My Geography teacher is always reminding my class that watching (geography related) films can contribute to the 3 hours of reading time we are supposed to do each week. On both her blog and the Facebook page there are lists of recommended films and so I thought I would start to watch some of them and write a review on them from a student's perspective. If I would recommeded them to a fellow student then I will add the film to my own list below.......

- THE AGE OF STUPID (great film to watch for the energy module as it talks about climate change, energy consumption and production via some interesting case studies)

- THE COVE (this film is very thought provoking and presented the issues surrounding the dolphin trade - before watching this I didn't know a lot about the issue, especially the scale of it in Japan, and it left me feeling very shocked that something like this still exists today in such a developed country)

-ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD (a great documentary with some simply stunning footage and interesting interviews that collectively provide an insight into life in Antarctica and the important research that is taking place)

-THE CONSTANT GARDENER (a rather sad story about how a drug company exploit the Kenyan population to allow them to test a new drug, despite the fact they know it has harmful side effects - good film for development and globalisation)

- ERIN BROCKOVICH (a good film that presents the negative impacts of the natural gas industry and the extent to which large companies are prepared to go to, to cover this up)

- SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (provides an insight into the life of children living in the Indian slums - good film to watch for development)

- GANDHI (a biopic about the life of Gandhi with particular reference to his prominent role in India's struggle for freedom from colonial rule)

- CRY FREEDOM (set in South Africa and tells the true story of Biko and his friendship with a white liberal newspaper editor - good film to watch for development)

- THE PAINTED VEIL (set in China, in the 1920's, and explores the impact of a cholera outbreak on a village, including references as to how religious beliefs make containing cholera even more challenging)

- BLOOD DIAMOND (set amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone; it explores many issues including those surrounding the diamond trade, supply of arms to rebels and child soldiers - good film to watch for development and globalisation module)- THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW (after the Larsen B ice shelf collapses, the thermohaline circulation shutdowns, provoking glacial inception in the northern hemisphere - a good film to watch and then point out the geographical/scientific mistakes!)

- GOODBYE BAFANA (follows the unlikely friendship that forms between Mandela and his prision officer - good for development and globalisation)

- INVICTUS (after 27 years imprisionment, Mandela becomes South Africa's first elected president and this film follows his bid to unite the country via the rugby world cup - good film for development and globalisation)

- DARFUR (a group of international journalists travel to a village in Darfur in search of evidence to persuade the UN that genocide has occured but are forced to live after the Janjaweed turn up and threaten to kill them.... a film to watch for either development and globalisation or the population module but be warned it is very graphic)

Geography Books

I am a bit of a bookworm and often prefer reading a good book to watching a film and so (like I am doing with the Geography films) I am going to read some of the suggested books and write a review on them so I can comment on whether or not I think they are worth reading........

- AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, Al Gore ( presents the issue of climate change and discusses how it has been caused and the impacts it is likely to have - well worth reading but if you prefer the film version is equally as a good)

- OUR CHOICE, Al Gore (this books follows on from An Inconvenient Truth by offering the solutions Al Gore thinks are required to solve the issue of Global Climate Change)

- THE BOY WHO HARNESSED THE WIND, William Kamkwamba and Bryan Mealer (tells the extraordinary true story of a Malawian teenager who overcame many obstacles to provide electricity and clean water for his village by capturing the energy in both the wind and the sun)

- BLOOD RIVER, Tim Butcher (tells the story of Tim Butchers quest to retrace the journey taken by H.M.Stanley in the 1870's. From this you get an insight into the history of the Congo and the factors that have effected its development - great book for the development and globalisation module as it provides an insight into the impact colonialism has had on Africa)

- GAIA, James Lovelock (presents the Gaia hypothesis which is the idea that the Earth functions as a living organism and so self-regulates to adapt to changing conditions - puts forward some very interesting ideas and really makes you think - it is worth a read!)

- THE REVENGE OF GAIA, James Lovelock (applies the Gaia hypothesis to global climate change - again an intriguing read which presents some interesting ideas and solutions to problems we are likely to face)

About Me

Whilst studying A-levels in Geography, Chemistry, Biology, Maths and History, I became completely fascinated by the Earth Sciences and found them particularly good for feeding my natural curiosity, providing answers to my never ending list of questions! Despite my relentless enthusiasm and frequent question asking, I was quite a quiet student in comparison to the rest of my class so my teacher asked me to start this blog as part of her experiment to test the benefits of incorporating social media into education. The aim was to find out if social networking can be a valuable educational tool and discover how much I actually learnt in lessons. It proved to be a huge success, for both myself and other students, with all my A-level notes still available for students use. I am currently at University studying BSc (Joint Honours) ‘Physical Geography with Oceanography’ and still asking way too many questions! In an attempt to continue to share my love for anything Earth Science-related, and to see if it can have the same benefits at Higher Education, I am trying to continue the blogging and use of social networking. I hope it proves to be a useful and interesting read!

The what, why and how of this blog.......

Hopefully you will have worked this out by now, but this blog is written from a student's perspective and, when combined with my teachers blog, should provide an insight into what I get taught - therefore what I should have learnt - in my Geography lessons. The idea is that this will make it a useful place to go to consolidate your learning; somewhere to go if you didn't quite understand something or missed a lesson. As well as this, posts will be written on anything of general geographical interest whether that be something currently in the news, anything related that I read or watch, anything I do or a topic that I just fancy finding out more about - all of this is designed to broaden our geographical knowledge. When it comes to revision I will try and write up as many notes as possible but it is unlikely that I will be able to cover everything so just let me know if there is anything you would like me to cover. So, thats what the blog is about (simply sharing, with anyone willing to read it, lots of geographical stuff that interests me!) and I am writing it because I tend to get a little enthusiastic about Geography and ask too many questions and so by channeling my interest in this way it will hopefully help you as much as it helps me!!! Whats the best way to use it? Well for starts reading/following the blogs and other resources is the only way you will benefit from them! Secondly, participate and get involved - comment on things, I am bound to get things wrong so correct me, you won't agree with everything I say so tell me what you think and perhaps even suggest things for me to read, watch or look into as I am always looking for new ways to extend my knowledge outside of the classroom. Geography is a discursive subject and, especially with human Geography, for the most part about forming/expressing opinions, so discuss the topics raised via the blogs etc. - trust me, its an easy way to learn!

I am now at University studying BSc (Joint Honours) Physical Geography with Oceanography - to keep my A-level notes separate I have started a new blog for current news and what I am learning in University - anything relevant I will also post on this blog, but please feel free to ask questions or requests posts! I hope students are still finding this a useful resource!

Disclaimer

'What I learnt in Geography this week.....' was created by, with content written by Vicki The Geography Student as part of an experiment conducted by Millie The Geography Teacher.

All posts published are my personal views, apart from where stated otherwise, and not those of the college I attended, my University or associated partners